GIFT  OF 

Mrs.   L.    J.  Richardson 


m 


ssil 


University  of  California  •  Berkeley 


W*&« 


WAR     PAPE 
No.  5. 

r 

Commandery 

Of  the  State 


MILITARY  ORDER 


o 


Loyal  Legion 


UNITED    STATES. 


"SHILOH" 


AS- 


SEEN  BY  A  PRIVATE  SOLDIER, 


A    PAPER    READ    BEFORE 


CALIFORNIA  COMMANDERY 


OF  THE 


MILITARY    ORDER 


OF  THE 


Loyal  Legion  of  the  United  States, 


MAY   31,  1889. 


BY     COMPANION 

\VARRKN     OLNEY, 

CAPTAIN  65x11  U.  S.  C.  Inf. 
(Insignia  No.  4862.) 


THE  BATTLE  OF  SHILOH. 


With  Some  Personal  Reminiscences. 

Very  interesting  descriptions  of  the  great  battles  of  the  late 
war,  written  by  prominent  generals,  have  been  lately  published 
and  widely  read.  It.  seems  to  me,  however,  that  it  is  time  for 
the  private  soldier  to  be  heard  from. 

Of  course,  his  field  of  vision  is  much  more  limited  than  that 
of  his  general.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  of  vital  importance 
to  the  latter  to  gloss  over  his  mistakes,  and  draw  attention 
only  to  those  things  which  will  add  to  his  reputation.  The 
private  soldier  has  no  such  feeling.  It  is  only  to  the  officers 
of  high  rank  engaged  that  a  battle  can  bring  glory  and  re 
nown.  To  the  army  of  common  soldiers,  who  do  the  actual 
fighting,  and  risk  mutilation  and  death,  there  is  no  reward 
except  the  consciousness  of  duty  bravely  performed.  This 
was  peculiarly  the  case  in  the  late  war,  when  more  than  a 
million  of  young  men,  the  flower  of  our  country,  left  their 
workshops  and  farms,  their  schools  and  colleges,  to  endure  the 
hardships  oi  the  march  and  the  camp,  to  risk  health,  limb  and 
life,  that  their  country  might  live,  expecting  nothing,  hoping 
nothing  for  themselves,  but  all  for  their  fatherland. 

The  first  really  great  battle  of  the  war  was  that  of  Pittsburg 
Landing,  or  Shiloh,  and  I  shall  not  only  attempt  to  give  a 
general  account  of  the  battle,  but  also  describe  it  from  the 
point  of  view  of  a  man  in  the  ranks. 

In  respect  to  the  general  features  of  this  desperate  struggle 
between  our  own  countrymen,  my  statements  are  derived  from 
many  reports  and  accounts  carefully  collated,  and  from  many 
conversations  with  soldiers  engaged,  both  from  the  Union  and 
Confederate  armies. 

Who  of  us,  having  reached  middle  life,  does  not  recall  the 
exultation  and  enthusiasm  aroused  by  the  news  of  the  capture 
of  Fort  Donelson  ?  What  a  thrill  of  pride  and  patriotism  was 
felt  through  all  the  loyal  North  !  The  soldiers  of  the  great 
Northwest  had  attacked  a  citadel  of  the  rebellion,  and  captured 
it,  with  sixteen  thousand  of  its  defenders. 


At  this  time  the  Third  Iowa  Infantry  was  strung  along  the 
North  Missouri  Railroad,  guarding  bridges  and  doing  other 
police  work.  Company  B,  which  had  the  honor  of  having  on 
its  muster  roll  private  Olney,  was  stationed  at  that  time  in  the 
little  town  of  Sturgeon,  Missouri,  where  our  principal  occu 
pation  was  to  keep  from  freezing.  We  had  then  spent  eight 
months  campaigning  in  that  border  State — that  is,  if  you  call 
guarding  railways  and  bridges,  and  attempting  to  pverawe  the 
disaffected,  enlivened  now  and  then  by  a  brisk  skirmish, 
campaigning.  The  Second  Iowa  had  led  the  charge  which 
captured  the  hostile  breastworks  at  Donelson,  and  General 
Grant  had  telegraphed  to  General  Halleck  at  St.  Louis,  who 
had  repeated  the  message  to  the  Governor  of  our  State,  that 
the  Second  Iowa  was  the  bravest  of  the  brave.  The  First 
Iowa  had  distinguished  itself  at  Wilson's  Creek,  near  Spring 
field,  under  General  Lyon,  while  we — well,  we  hadn't  done 
much  of  anything  but  to  get  a  licking  at  Blue  Mills.  There 
fore,  when  a  message  to  move  came,  and  we  found  ourselves 
on  the  way  to  join  General  Grant's  army,  we  felt  quite 
hilarious. 

At  St.  L,ouis  we  were  put  on  board  the  steamer  "latan." 
Down  the  Mississippi,  up  the  Ohio,  up  the  Tennessee.  As  we 
proceeded  up  the  Tennessee  we  were  continually  overtaking  or 
being  joined  by  other  steamboats  loaded  with  troops,  until 
presently  the  river  was  alive  with  transports,  carrying  the 
army  of  the  West  right  into  the  heart  of  the  Confederacy.  It 
was  a  beautiful  and  stirring  sight ;  mild  weather  had  set  in 
(it  was  now  the  second  week  of  March),  the  flotilla  of  steam 
boats,  black  with  soldiers,  bands  playing,  flags  flying,  all 
combined  to  arouse  and  interest.  It  was  the  ' '  pomp  and 
circumstance  of  glorious  war." 

Frequent  stoppages  were  made,  giving  us  a  chance  to  run 
ashore.  About  the  thirteenth  we  reached  the  landing-place, 
which  soon  afterwards  became  famous.  The  river  was  very 
high,  and  at  first  there  seemed  to  be  doubts  as  to  where  a 
landing  should  be  effected,  but  in  a  few  days  the  question  was 
settled.  Our  boat  was  moored  as  near  the  shore  as  possible, 
and  we  joined  the  immense  throng  painfully  making  their  way 
through  the  unfathomable  mud  to  camps  in  the  dense  woods. 
The  first  things  I  observed  after  reaching  the  high  bluff,  were 
trees  that  had  been  torn  and  shattered  by  shells  from  our  gun- 


boats,  which,  it  seems,  had  dislodged  a  company  of  Confeder 
ates,  who  had  dug  rifle-pits  on  the  bluff,  from  whence  they 
had  fired  on  our  steamboats. 

We  first  camped  on  the  bluff  near  the  landing,  but  shortly 
moved  back  about  a  mile  from  the  river,  and  camped  on  the 
edge  of  a  small  cotton  field  with  dense  forests  all  around. 
The  Hamburg  road  ran  past  the  left  of  our  line,  between  us 
and  the  Forty-first  Illinois  ;  while  on  the  right  was  a  small 
ravine,  which  ran  into  a  little  creek,  and  that  into  Snake  Creek. 

The  mud — well,  it  was  indescribable.  Though  we  were 
only  a  mile  from  our  base  of  supplies,  the  greatest  difficulty 
was  experienced  in  getting  camp  equipage  and  provisions. 
We  found  that  other  divisions  of  the  army  had  landed  before 
us,  moving  farther  out  to  the  front  towards  Corinth,  and  had 
so  cut  up  the  roads  that  they  were  quagmires  their  whole 
length.  Teams  were  stalled  in  the  mud  in  every  direction. 
The  principal  features  of  the  landscape  were  trees,  mud, 
wagons  buried  to  the  hub,  and  struggling,  plunging  mule 
teams.  The  shouts  of  teamsters  and  resounding  whacks  filled 
the  air  ;  and  as  to  profanity — well,  you  could  see  the  air  about 
an  enraged  teamster  turn  blue  as  he  exhorted  his  impenitent 
mules.  And  the  rain  !  how  it  did  come  down  !  As  I  recall  it, 
the  spring  of  1862  did  not  measure  its  rainfall  in  Western 
Tennessee  by  inches,  but  by  feet. 

But  in  time  our  camp  was  fairly  established.  Sibley  tents 
were  distributed,  one  for  fourteen  men.  They  protected  us 
from  the  rain,v  but  they  had  their  drawbacks.  Several  of  us 
were  schoolmates  from  a  Western  college,  and,  of  course,  in 
some  respects,  constituted  a  little  aristocracy.  We  had  had  a 
small  tent  to  ourselves,  and  the  socialistic  grayback,  as  yet, 
had  not  crawled  therein.  Now,  we  were  required  to  share  our 
tent  with  others,  and  that  might  mean  a  great  many.  But 
when  it  came  to  a  question  of  sleeping  out  in  the  cold  rain, 
or  camping  down  in  a  crowded  tent  in  true  democratic  equality 
and  taking  the  chances  of  immigration  from  our  neighbors' 
clothing,  we  did  not  prefer  the  rain. 

Of  course,  the  private  soldier  has  not  much  opportunity  for 
exploration  about  his  camp,  however  strong  may  be  his 
passion  in  that  direction.  I  did  what  I  could,  but  my  know 
ledge  of  the  general  encampment  was  much  enlarged  when, 
during  the  days  following  the  battle,  all  discipline  being 


relaxed,  I  tramped  the  field  over  in  every  direction  and  talked 
with  the  men  of  numerous  regiments  on  their  camp  grounds. 
Further  on,  I  shall  refer  to  the  position  occupied  by  our  army 
more  at  length,  and  shall  only  refer  now  to  the  general  position 
of  our  encampment,  as  on  a  wooded  plateau,  accessible  to 
attack  only  from  the  direction  of  Corinth,  the  river  being  in 
our  rear,  Snake  Creek  and  Owl  Creek  on  our  right  flank,  and 
Lick  Creek  on  our  left.  In  places  there  were  small  fields  with 
their  adjuncts  of  deserted  cabins.  Our  troops  were  camped 
wherever  there  was  an  opening  in  the  woods  or  underbrush 
sufficiently  large  for  a  regiment.  There  seemed  to  be  no  order 
or  system  about  the  method  of  encampment,  but  each  regiment 
occupied  such  suitable  ground  as  presented  itself  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  rest  of  the  brigade  ;  and  the  same  was 
true  of  the  brigades  composing  the  divisions. 

Our  regiment  was  brigaded  with  the  Twenty-eighth,  Thirty- 
second,  and  Forty-first  Illinois.  The  division  was  commanded 
by  Brigadier- General  Stephen  A.  Hurlbut  (since  somewhat 
noted  as  United  States  Minister  to  Peru).  We  had  served 
under  him  in  Missouri,  and  our  principal  recollection  of  him 
was  an  event  which  occurred  at  Macon.  We  had  got  aboard 
a  train  of  cattle  cars  for  the  purpose  of  going  to  the  relief  of 
some  point  threatened  by  the  enemy.  After  waiting  on  the 
train  two  or  three  hours,  expecting  every  moment  to  start,  we 
noticed  a  couple  of  staff  officers  supporting  on  each  side  the 
commanding  general,  and  leading  him  to  the  car  I  was  in. 
Getting  him  to  the  side  of  the  car,  they  boosted  him  in  at  the 
door,  procurred  a  soldier's  knapsack  for  him  to  sit  on,  and  left 
him.  He  was  so  drunk  he  couldn't  sit  upright.  The  conse 
quence  was  that  the  regimental  officers  refused  to  move.  A 
court-martial  followed,  and  we  heard  no  more  of  our  general 
until  we  found  him  at  Pittsburg  Landing  in  command  of  a 
division.  He  showed  so  much  coolness  and  bravery  in  the 
battle  which  followed,  that  we  forgave  him  his  first  scandalous 
appearance.  But  the  distrust  of  him  before  the  battle  can 
readily  be  imagined. 

No  one  who  has  not  been  through  the  experience  can  realize 
the  anxiety  of  the  private  soldier  respecting  the  character  and 
capacity  of  his  commanding  officer.  His  life  is  in  the  general's 
hand.  Whether  he  shall  be  uselessly  sacrificed,  may  depend 
wholly  upon  the  coolness  or  readiness  for  an  emergency  of  the 


commander  ;  whether  he  has  had  two  drinks  or  three  ;  whether 
he  has  had  a  good  night's  rest,  or  a  good  cigar.  The  private 
soldier  regards  a  new  and  unknown  commander  very  much  as 
a  slave  does  a  new  owner,  and  with  good  reason.  With 
out  confidence  on  the  part  of  the  rank  and  file,  victory  is 
impossible.  Their  soldiers'  confidence  in  Stonewall  Jackson 
and  Lee  doubled  the  effective  strength  of  their  armies.  When 
in  the  Franco- Prussian  war  a  German  regiment  was  called 
upon  for  a  charge,  each  man  felt  that  the  order  was  given 
because  it  was  necessary ,  and  that  what  he  was  doing  was  part 
of  a  comprehensive  scheme,  whose  success  might  very  likely 
depend  upon  whether  he  did  his  assigned  part  manfully.  The 
French  soldier  in  that  war  had  no  such  feeling  and,  of  course, 
the  result  of  that  campaign  was  not  long  in  doubt.  In 
Napoleon's  time,  the  confidence  of  the  rank  and  file  was  such 
that  time  and  again  he  was  saved  from  defeat  by  the  feeling 
of  the  attacked  corps  or  detachment  that  it  must  hold  its 
ground,  or  probably  imperil  the  army.  Oh,  the  sickening 
doubt  and  distrust  of  our  generals  during  the  first  years 
of  the  war  !  Our  soldiers  were  as  brave  as  ever  trod  the  earth, 
and  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  cause  for  which  they  were 
fighting ;  but  the  suspicion  that  at  headquarters  there  might 
be  inefficiency  or  drunkenness ;  that  marches  and  counter 
marches  had  no  definite  purpose ;  that  their  lives  might  be 
uselessly  thrown  away — you  would  have  to  go  through  it  to 
realize  it !  At  the  beginning  of  the  war,  the  Southerners  had 
a  vast  advantage  over  us  in  that  respect.  Generally  speaking, 
they  started  out  with  the  same  able  commanders  they  had  at 
the  end. 

Our  colonel  was  thoroughly  disliked  and  distrusted.  As  he 
was  the  ranking  colonel  of  '  the  brigade,  he  was  placed  in 
command  of  it ;  so  you  see  we  did  not  feel  particularly  happy 
over  the  situation,  especially  as  we  knew  the  Confederate  army 
was  only  twenty-two  miles  off. 

The  steady,  cold  rains  of  the  first  week  or  two  was  most 
depressing.  On  account,  probably,  of  the  bad  weather  and 
exposure,  the  soldiers'  worst  enemy,  diarrhoea,  took  possession 
of  our  camps,  and  for  a  week  or  ten  days  we  literally  had  no 
stomachs  for  fighting.  But  after  a  .little  the  rain  let  up,  the 
sun  came  out  warm,  our  spirits  revived,  the  roads,  and  conse- 


8 

quently  the  supplies  improved  ;  and  on  the  whole,  we  thought 
it  rather  jolly. 

If  you  had  been  there  of  a  warm,  sunny  day  you  would  have 
noticed  every  log  and  stump  serving  as  a  seat  for  a  soldier, 
who  had  taken  off  his  shirt  and  was  diligently  hunting  it  all 
over.  It  was  not  safe  to  ask  him  what  he  was  looking  for. 

Troops  were  continually  arriving,  some  of  them  freshly 
recruited,  and  not  yet  familiar  with  their  arms,  or  the  simplest 
elements  of  regimental  maneuvers.  It  was  said  there  were 
some  regiments  who  had  just  received  their  guns,  and  had 
never  fired  them.  Badeau  says  they  came  on  the  field  without 
cartridges.  I  know  that  improved  rifles  were  scarce,  for  my 
own  regiment  at  that  time  did  not  have  rifles,  but  old  smooth 
bore  muskets  with  buck-and-ball  ammunition — that  is,  the 
cartridge  had  next  to  the  powder  a  large  ball,  and  then  next 
to  it  three  buck  shot.  Of  course,  we  should  have  had  no  show 
against  rifles  at  long  range,  but  at  short  range,  in  woods  and 
brush,  these  weapons  were  fearfully  destructive,  as  we  shall 
presently  see. 

Strange  to  say,  these  freshly  recruited  regiments  we're 
assigned  to  Sherman's  division  and  to  Prentiss'  division,  whose 
camps  were  scattered  in  the  woods  farthest  out  towards  Corinth. 
As  might  have  been  expected,  these  new  soldiers  did  not  stand 
on  the  order  of  their  going,  when  they  suddenly  discovered  a 
hostile  army  on  top  of  them. 

A  map  of  the  place  selected  for  the  concentration  of  our 
army  shows  that  with  proper  precautions  and  such  defensive 
works  as,  later  in  the  war,  would  have  been  constructed  within 
a  few  hours,  the  place  was  impregnable.  The  river  which  ran 
in  the  rear  was  controlled  by  our  gunboats,  and  furnished  us 
the  means  of  obtaining  abundant  supplies.  Creeks  with 
marshy  banks  protected  either  flank.  The  only  possible 
avenue  of  attack  upon  this  position  was  directly  in  front,  and 
across  that  ran  little  creeks  and  ravines,  with  here  and  there 
open  fields  affording  fine  vantage-ground.  A  general  antici 
pating  the  possibility  of  attack,  would  not  have  scattered 
his  divisions  so  widely,  and  would  have  marked  a  line  of 
defense  upon  which  the  troops  should  rally.  Advantage 
would  have  been  taken  of  the  ground,  and  trees  felled  with 
the  tops  outwards,  through  which  an  attacking  force  would 
have,  with  great  difficulty,  to  struggle.  And  later  in  the  war, 


as  a  matter  of  precaution,  and  because  of  the  proximity  of  the 
enemy,  breastworks  would  have  been  thrown  up.  All  this 
could  have  been  done  in  a  few  hours.  Our  flanks  were  so  well 
protected  that  no  troops  were  needed  there,  and  in  case  of 
attack,  each  division  commander  should  have  had  his  place  in 
the  front,  to  which  to  immediately  march  his  command  ;  while, 
the  line  being  not  more  than  three  miles  long  at  the  very  out 
side  estimate,  there  were  abundant  forces  to  man  it  thoroughly, 
leaving  a  large  force  in  the  reserve  to  reinforce  a  point  im 
periled. 

Why  was  not  this  done?  It  is  hard  to  find  an  answer. 
General  Sherman's  division  was  at  the  extreme  front.  It  was 
being  organized.  The  "enemy  was  not  more  than  twenty- 
two  miles  away,  and  was  known  to  be  concentrating  from  all 
the  West.  Yet  this  general,  who  afterwards  acquired  such 
fame  as  a  consummate  master  of  the  art  of  war,  took  no  pre. 
cautions  whatever,  not  even  thoroughly  scouting  the  ground 
in  his  front.  His  pickets  could  not  have  been  out  more  than 
a  mile.  General  Prentiss'  division  was  also  in  process  of 
organization,  and  he,  like  Sherman,  was  in  advance,  and  on 
Sherman's  left.  The  complete  absence  of  the  ordinary  pre 
cautions,  always  taken  by  military  commanders  since  the 
beginning  of  history,  is  inexplicable.  The  only  reason  I  can 
conjecture  for  it  grows  out  of  the  character  of  General  Grant 
and  his  distinguished  subordinate,  and  their  inexperience. 
They  had  had  then  little  practical  knowledge  of  actual 
warfare.  General  Sherman,  except  on  one  occasion, 
had  never  heard  a  hostile  gun  fired.  They  had  to 
learn  their  art,  and  the  country  and  their  army  had  to  pay  the 
cost  of  their  teaching.  Happily,  they  were  able  to  profit  by 
every  lesson,  and  soon  had  no  equals  among  our  commanders. 
But  because  they  have  since  deserved  so  well  of  their  country, 
h  no  reason  why  history  should  be  silent  as  to  their  mistakes. 
The  Confederates  would  have  made  a  great  mistake  in  attack 
ing  us  at  all  in  such  a  position,  if  we  had  been  prepared  to 
receive  them.  But  this  want  of  preparation  prevented  us  from 
taking  advantage  of  the  opportunity,  and  inflicting  a  crushing 
defeat  upon  the  South.  By  it  the  war  was  prolonged,  and  every 
village  and  hamlet  in  the  West  had  its  house  of  mourning. 

Immediately  in   the   right   rear  of  General   Sherman   was 
camped  the  veteran  division  of  General  McClernand.     About 


10 

two  miles  further  back,  and  about  a  mile  from  the  river,  was 
stationed  the  reserve,  consisting  of  two  divisions,  Hurlbut's 
and  W.  H.  L.  Wallace's,  formerly  C.  F.  Smith's.  Across  Owl 
Creek,  and  seven  or  eight  miles  off,  was  camped  General  Lew 
Wallace's  division.  It  was  so  for  away  as  not  to  be  in  easy 
supporting  distance. 

On  April  ist,  our  division  was  marched  to  an  open  field,  and 
there  carefully  reviewed  by  General  Grant.  This  was  our  first 
sight  of  the  victor  of  Donelson.  Friday,  the  4th  of  April,  was 
a  sloppy  day,  and  just  before  sundown  we  heard  firing  off 
towards  Sherman's  division.  We  fell  into  line  and  started 
toward  the  front.  After  we  had  marched  about  a  mile,  pitch 
darkness  came  on.  Presently,  a  staff  officer  directed  a  counter 
march  back  to  camp,  saying  it  was  only  a  rebel  reconnoisance. 
It  was  a  nasty  march  back  in  the  mud,  dense  woods,  and  thick 
darkness. 

All  this  day  the  Confederate  army  was  struggling  through 
the  woods  and  mud,  on  its  march  from  Corinth  to  attack  us. 
It  was  the  expectation  of  General  Johnston  and  his  subordi 
nates  to  cover  the  intervening  space  between  the  two  armies  in 
this  one  day  and  attack  early  Saturday  morning;  but  the 
difficulties  of  the  march  was  such,  that  he  did  not  make  more 
than  half  the  distance,  and  had  to  go  into  camp  for  the  night. 
Saturday  was  a  reasonably  pleasant  day,  but  General  Johnston's 
troops  had  got  so  entangled  in  the  forests,  he  did  not  feel 
justified  in  attacking  until  all  his  preparations  were  made, 
which  took  the  whole  of  Saturday.  He  then  moved  up  to 
within  a  mile  or  two  of  Sherman  and  Prentiss,  and  went  into 
camp  within  sound  of  our  drums. 

The  delay  had  been  so  great  that  Beauregard  now  advised  a 
countermarch  back  to  Corinth.  He  represented  that  our 
forces  had  surely  been  appraised  of  their  march,  and  it  would 
be  too  late  now  to  effect  a  surprise  ;  that  they  would  un 
doubtedly  find  us  all  prepared,  and  probably  behind  breast 
works  and  other  obstructions.  General  Johnston  was  smarting 
under  the  criticisms  of  the  campaign  which  resulted  in  the  loss 
of  Donelson.  His  courage  and  military  instinct  told  him  that 
now  was  the  time  to  strike.  He  felt,  too,  that  a  bold  stroke 
was  necessary  to  redeem  the  fortunes  of  the  Confederacy  and 
his  own  reputation.  His  resolution  was  to  conquer  or  die  ; 


1 1 


and  he  replied  to  Beauregard  :   "  We  shall  attack  at  daylight 
to-morrow." 

Here  was  an  army  of  a  little  over  40,000  men,  as  brave  as  ever 
shouldered  muskets,  fighting  on  their  own  soil,  and,  as  they 
believed,  for  homes  and  liberty,  resting  for  the  night  at  about 
two  miles  from  the  invading  army,  and  all  prepared  to  attack 
at  dawn,  and  sweep  the  invaders  of  their  country  back  into 
the  Tennessee  river.  Upon  the  favoring  breeze,  the  sound  of 
our  drums  at  evening  parade  came  floating  to  their  ears.  They 
heard  the  bugle  note  enjoying  quiet  and  repose  in  the  camp  of 
their  unsuspecting  foe.  They,  themselves,  were  crouching  in 
the  thick  woods  and  darkness,  all  prepared  to  spring  on  their 
prey.  No  camp-fire  was  lighted  ;  no  unnecessary  sound  was 
permitted  ;  but  silent,  watchful,  with  mind  and  heart  prepared 
for  conflict,  the  Southern  hosts  waited  for  the  morning. 

Such  was  the  situation,  so  far  as  our  enemies  were  concerned. 
But  how  was  it  with  the  army  fighting  for  the  integrity  and 
preservation  of  the  nation  ?  Let  us  begin  with  the  command 
ing  General.  That  day  (Saturday)  he  dispatched  General 
Halleck  as  follows  :  •' '  The  main  force  of  the  army  is  at  Corinth. 
The  number  at  Corinth  and  within  supporting 
distance  of  it  cannot  be  far  from  80,000  men."  Later  in  the 
day  he  dispatched  the  news  of  the  enemy's  reconnoisance  the 
night  before,  and  added  :  * '  I  have  scarcely  the  faintest  idea  of 
an  attack  (general  one)  being  madejupon  us,  but  will,  be  pre 
pared  should  a  thing  take  place." 

Grant  had  less  than  50,000  men  fit  for  battle.  He  thinks 
the  enemy  at  Corinth,  twenty-two  miles  away,  has  80,000  men. 
He  must  know  that  the  enemy  knows  Buell,  with  his  army, 
will  soon  reach  the  Tennessee,  and  when  united  with  his  own 
will  nearly  double  his  effective  strength  ;  that  now,  and  before 
Buell  joins  him,  if  ever,  must  the  Confederates  strike  an 
effective  blow.  His  pickets  have  been  driven  in  the  night 
before,  the  enemy  using  a  piece  or  two  of  artilery;  yet  he  does 
not  expect  an  attack,  and  makes  not  the  slightest  preparation 
to  receive  or  repel  one.  He  leaves  General  Lew  Wallace  with 
over  7,000  good  troops  at  Crump's  Landing,  out  of  easy 
supporting  distance.  Nelson's  division  and  Crittenden's 
division  of  Buell' s  army  at  Savannah  ;  and  has  no  thought  of 
moving  them  up  that  day  to  repel  an  overwhelming  attack 
about  to  be  made  on  him.  On  Saturday  he  visits  his  army  and 


12 


Sherman,  and  then  goes  back    to  Savannah,  unsuspicious  of 
the  presence  of  the  enemy. 

How  was  it  with  General  Sherman,  who  had  the  advance 
on  the  right,  and  was  probably  more  relied  upon  by  Grant  and 
Halleck  than  was  Prentiss  ?  In  fact  it  is  not  at  all  improbable 
that  Grant  wholly  relied  upon  the  two  division  commanders  at 
the  front,  particularly  Sherman,  to  keep  him  posted  as  to  the 
movements  of  the  hostile  army.  General  Sherman  reported 
on  Saturda}'  that  he  thought  there  were  about  two  regiments 
of  infantry  and  a  battery  of  artillery  about  six  miles  out.  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  the  whole  rebel  army  was  not  more  than  six 
miles  out.  Later  in  the  day  he  dispatches  :  ' '  The  enemy  is 
saucy,  but  got  the  worst  of  it  yesterday,  and  will  not  press  our 
pickets  far.  I  do  not  apprehend  anything  like  an  attack  on 
our  position." 

A  tolerably  extensive  reading  of  campaigns  and  military 
histories  justifies  me  in  saying  that  such  an  exhibition  of 
unsuspicious  security  in  the  presence  of  a  hostile  army  is 
without  a  parallel  in  the  history  of  warfare. 

How  was  it  with  our  army  ?  We  knew  the  enemy  to  be 
at  Corinth,  but  there  had  been  no  intimation  of  advance  ;  and 
no  army  could  get  over  the  intervening  space  in  less  than  two 
days,  of  which,  of  course,  it  was  the  duty  of  our  generals  to 
have  ample  notice.  Usually,  before  a  battle,  there  seems  to  be 
something  in  the  very  air  that  warns  the  soldier  and  officer  of 
what  is  coming,  and  to  nerve  themselves  for  the  struggle  ;  but 
most  of  us  retired  this  Saturday  night  to  our  blankets  in  as 
perfect  fancied  security  as  ever  enveloped  an  army. 

But  this  was  not  true  of  all.  A  sense  of  uneasiness  pervaded 
a  portion  of  the  advance  line.  Possibly  there  had  been  too 
much  noise  in  the  woods  in  front,  possibly  that  occult  sense, 
which  tells  us  of  the  proximity  of  another,  warned  them  of  the 
near  approach  of  a  hostile  army.  Some  of  the  officers  noticed 
that  the  woods  beyond  the  pickets  seemed  to  be  full  of 
Rebel  cavalry.  General  Prentiss  was  infected  with  this 
uneasiness,  and  at  daylight  on  Sunday  morning  sent  out  the 
Twenty-first  Missouri  to  make  an  observation  towards  Corinth. 

This  regiment,  proceeding  through  the  forest,  ran  plump 
upon  the  Confederate  skirmish  line,  which  it  promptly  attacked. 
Immediately  the  Missourians  saw  an  army  behind  the  skirmish 
line  advancing  upon  them.  They  could  hold  their  ground  but 


13 

for  a  moment.  The  enemy's  advance  swept  them  back,  and,  like 
an  avalanche,  the  Confederate  army  poured  into  the  camps  of 
Sherman's  and  Prentiss'  divisions. 

At  the  first  fire  our  men  sprang  to  arms.  By  the  time  the 
enemy  had  reached  our  camps  many  regiments  had  become 
partially  formed,  but  they  were  all  unnerved  by  the  shock. 
Some  were  captured  by  the  enemy  before  they  could  get  their 
clothes  on.  Some,  without  firing  a  shot,  broke  for  the  river- 
landing,  three  miles  away,  and  cowered  beneath  its  banks. 
General  Sherman  and  his  staff  mounted  their  horses,  and  as 
they  galloped  past  the  Fifty-third  Ohio,  which  was  getting 
into  line,  one  of  the  officers  called  out  to  him  not  to  go  any 
farther,  for  the  rebel  army  was  just  beyond  the  rising  ground. 
The  general  made  use  of  some  expression  about  not  getting 
frightened  at  a  reconnoisance,  and  went  ahead.  As  he  reached 
the  slight  elevation  he  beheld  the  Confederate  army  sweeping 
down  upon  him.  Their  skirmish  line  fired  at  him,  killing  his 
orderly.  He  realized  at  last  that  he  was  in  the  presence  of  a 
hostile  army.  From  that  moment  he  did  everything  that 
mortal  man  could  do  to  retrieve  his  fatal  mistake.  Wounded 
twice,  several  horses  successively  killed  under  him,  chaos  and 
defeat  all  around,  yet  his  clear  intelligence  and  steady  courage 
stamped  him  a  born  leader  of  men.  The  other  generals  and 
officers  yielded  to  his  superior  force  and  obeyed  his  orders. 
He  was  everywhere,  encouraging,  threatening,  organizing, 
and  succeeded  in  establishing  a  tolerable  line  in  the  rear  of 
his  camps. 

General  Prentiss'  troops  were  more  demoralized  than  Sher 
man's.  Whole  regiments  broke  away,  and  were  not  reorgan 
ized  until  after  the  battle.  A  tide  of  fugitives  set  in  toward 
the  landing,  carrying  demoralization  and  terror  with  them. 

Our  camp  was  so  far  back  that  we  heard  nothing  of  this 
early  uproar.  The  morning  was  a  beautiful  one,  and  after  our 
early  breakfast  I  started  down  the  little  creek,  hunting  for 
some  first  flowers  of  spring.  I  had  scarcely  got  out  of  sight  of 
camp,  when  the  firing  toward  the  front,  though  faintly  heard, 
seemed  too  steady  to  be  caused  by  the  pernicious  habit 
which  prevailed  of  the  pickets  firing  off  their  guns  on  return 
ing  from  duty,  preparatory  to  cleaning  them.  A  sense  of 
apprehension  took  possession  of  me.  Presently  artillery  was 
heard,  and  then  I  turned  toward  camp,  getting  more  alarmed 


14 

at  every  step.  When  I  reached  camp  a  startled  look  was  on 
every  countenance.  The  musketry  firing  had  become  loud  and 
general,  and  whole  batteries  of  artillery  were  joining  in  the 
dreadful  chorus.  The  men  rushed  to  their  tents  and  seized 
their  guns,  but  as  yet  no  order  to  fall  in  was  given.  Nearer 
and  nearer  sounded  the  din  of  a  tremendous  conflict.  Presently 
the  long  roll  was  heard  from  the  regiments  on  our  right.  A  staff 
officer  came  galloping  up,  spoke  a  word  to  the  Major  in  command 
the  order  to  fall  in  was  shouted,  the  drummers  began  to  beat 
the  long  roll,  and  it  was  taken  up  by  the  regiments  on  our  left. 
The  men,  with  pale  faces,  wild  eyes,  compressed  lips,  quickly 
accoutered  themselves  for  battle.  The  shouts  of  the  officers, 
the  rolling  of  the  drums,  the  hurrying  to  and  fro  of  the  men, 
the  uproar  of  approaching  but  unexpected  battle,  all  together 
produced  sensations  which  cannot  be  described.  Soon,  teams 
with  shouting  drivers  came  tearing  along  the  road  toward  the 
landing.  Crowds  of  fugitives  and  men  slightly  wounded 
went  hurrying  past  in  the  same  direction.  Uproar  and  turmoil 
were  all  around  ;  but  we,  having  got  into  line,  stood  quietly 
with  scarcely  a  word  spoken.  Each  man  was  struggling  with 
himself  and  nerving  himself  for  what  bid  fair  to  be  a  dreadful 
conflict.  What  thoughts  of  home  and  kindred  and  all  that 
makes  life  dear  come  to  one  at  such  a  moment. 

Presently  a  staff  officer  rode  up,  the  command  to  march  was 
given,  and  with  the  movement  came  some  relief  to  the  mental 
and  moral  strain.  As  we  passed  in  front  of  the  Forty-first 
Illinois,  a  field  officer  of  that  regiment,  in  a  clear, 
ringing  voice,  was  speaking  to  his  men,  and  announced  that 
if  any  man  left  the  ranks  on  pretense  of  caring  for  the  wounded 
he  should  be  shot  on  the  spot ;  that  the  wounded  must  be  left 
till  the  fight  was  over.  His  men  cheered  him,  and  we  took  up 
the  cheer.  Blood  was  beginning  to  flow  through  our  veins 
again,  and  we  could  even  comment  to  one  another  upon  the 
sneaks  who  remained  in  camp,  on  pretense  of  being  sick.  As 
we  moved  toward  the  front  the  fugitives  and  the  wounded 
increased  in  numbers.  Poor  wretches,  horribly  mutilated, 
would  drop  down,  unable  to  go  farther.  Wagons  full  of 
wounded,  filling  the  air  with  their  groans,  went  hurrying  by. 
As  we  approached  the  scene  of  conflict,  we  moved  off  to  the 
left  ot  the  line  of  the  rear-ward  going  crowd,  crossed  a  small 
field  and  halted  in  the  open  woods  beyond.  As  we  halted,  we 


saw  right  in  front  of  us,  but  about  three  hundred  or  four 
hundred  yards  off,  a  dense  line  of  Confederate  infantry, 
quietly  standing  in  ranks.  In  our  excitement,  and  without  a 
word  of  command,  we  turned  loose  and  with  our  smooth  bore 
muskets  opened  fire  upon  them.  After  three  or  four  rounds, 
the  absurdity  of  firing  at  the  enemy  at  that  distance  with  our 
guns  dawned  upon  us,  and  we  stopped.  As  the  smoke  cleared 
up  we  saw  the  enemy  still  there,  not  having  budged  or  fired  a 
shot  in  return.  But  though  our  action  was  absurd,  it  was  a 
relief  to  us  to  do  something,  and  we  were  rapidly  becoming 
toned  up  to  the  point  of  steady  endurance. 

As  we  gazed  at  the  enemy  so  coolly  standing  there,  an  Ohio 
battery  of  artillery  came  galloping  up  in  our  rear,  and  what 
followed  I  don't  believe  was  equalled  by  anything  of  the  kind 
during  the  war.  As  the  artillery  came  up  we  moved  off  by 
the  right  flank  a  few  steps,  to  let  it  come  in  between  us  and 
the  Illinois  regiment  next  on  our  left.  Where  we  were  stand 
ing  was  in  open,  low- limbed  oak  timber.  The  line  of  Southern 
infantry  was  in  tolerably  plain  view  through  the  openings  in 
the  woods,  and  were  still  standing  quietly.  Of  course,  we  all 
turned  our  heads  away  from  them  to  look  at  the  finely  equipped 
battery,  as  it  came  galloping  from  the  rear  to  our  left  flank,  its 
officers  shouting  directions  to  the  riders  where  to  stop  their 
guns.  It  was  the  work  of  but  an  instant  to  bring  every  gun 
into  position.  Like  a  flash  the  gunners  leaped  from  their  seats 
and  unlimbered  the  cannon.  The  fine  six-horse  teams  began 
turning  round  with  the  caisons,  charges  were  being  rammed 
home,  and  the  guns  pointed  toward  the  dense  ranks  of  the 
enemy,  when,  from  right  in  front,  a  dense  puff  of  smoke,  a 
tearing  of  shot  and  shell  through  the  trees,  a  roar  from  half  a 
dozen  cannon,  hitherto  unseen,  and  our  brave  tattery  was 
knocked  into  smithereens.  Great  limbs  of  trees,  torn  off  by 
cannon  shot,  came  down  on  horse  and  rider,  crushing  them  to 
earth.  Shot  and  shell  struck  cannon,  upsetting  them  ;  caissons 
explodfjjLthem.  Not  a  shot  was  fired  from  our  side. 

But  how  those^astounded  artillery  men — those  of  them  who 
could  run  at  all — did  scamper  out  of  there.  Like  Mark 
Twain's  dog,  they  may  be  running  yet.  At  least,  it  is  certain 
that  no  attempt  was  ever  made  to  reorganize  that  battery — it 
was  Utterly  wiped  out  then  and  there. 

This  made  us  feel  mightily  uncomfortable — in  fact,  we  had 


i6 


been  feeling  quite  uncomfortable  all  the  morning.  It  did  not 
particularly  add  to  the  cheerfulness  of  the  prospect,  to  reflect 
that  our  division  was  the  reserve  of  the  army,  and  should  not 
be  called  into  action,  ordinarily,  until  towards  the  close  of  the 
battle  ;  while  here  we  were,  early  in  the  forenoon,  face  to  face 
with  the  enemy,  our  battery  of  artillery  gobbled  up  at  one 
mouthful,  and  the  rest  of  the  army  in  great  strait,  certainly, 
and  probably  demoralized. 

One  of  the  cannon  shot  had  gone  through  our  Colonel's 
horse,  and  the  rider  had  been  carried  off  the  field.  Colonel 
Pugh,  of  the  Forty-first  Illinois,  then  took  command  of  the 
brigade,  about-faced  us,  and  marched  us  back  across  the  little 
field,  and  halted  us  just  behind  the  fence,  the  enemy  during 
this  maneuver  leaving  us  wholly  undisturbed. 

The  rails  were  thrown  down  and  we  lay  flat  upon  the  ground, 
while  another  battery  came  up  and  opened  on  the  enemy,  who 
had  moved  up  almost  to  the  wreck  of  our  first  battery. 

Here,  then,  began  a  fierce  artillery  duel.  Shot  and  shell 
went  over  us  and  crashing  through  the  trees  to  the  rear  of  us, 
and  I  suppose  that  shot  and  shell  went  crashing  through  the  trees 
above  the  enemy  ;  but  if  they  didn't  suffer  any  more  from  shot 
and  shell  than  we  did,  there  was  a  great  waste  of  powder  and 
iron  that  day.  But  how  a  fellow  does  hug  the  ground  under 
such  circumstances !  As  a  shell  goes  whistling  over  him  he 
flattens  out,  and  presses  himself  into  the  earth,  almost.  Pity 
the  sorrows  of  a  big  fat  man  under  such  a  fire. 

Later  in  the  war  we  should  have  dug  holes  for  ourselves 
with  bayonets.  We  must  have  lain  there  hugging  the  ground 
for  more  than  two  hours,  with  now  and  then  an  intermission, 
listening  to  the  flight  of  dreaded  missiles  above  us  ;  but,  as 
nobody  in  our  immediate  neighborhood  was  hurt,  we  at  length 
voted  the  performance  of  the  artillery  to  be,  on  the  whole, 
rather  fine.  During  intermissions,  while  the  scenes  were  shift 
ing,  as  it  were,  we  began  to  feel  a  disposition  to  talk  and  joke 
over  the  situation. 

The  reason  why  we  were  not  subjected  to  an  infantry  fire, 
was  because  the  enemy's  forces,  tangled  in  the  wooded  country, 
and  in  places  beaten  back  by  the  stubborn  gallantry  of  our 
surprised  but  not  demoralized  men,  needed  to  be  reorganized. 
All  the  Southern  accounts  agree  that  their  brigades  and 
divisions  had  become  mixed  in  apparently  hopeless  confusion. 


17 

The  battlefield  was  so  extensive  that  fighting  was  going  on  at 
some  point  all  the  time,  so  that  at  no  time  was  there  a  complete 
cessation  of  the  roar  of  artillery  or  the  rattle  of  musketry. 

Two  or  three  times  General  Hurlbut  came  riding  along  our 
line  ;  and  once,  during  a  lull,  General  Grant  and  staff  came 
slowly  riding  by,  the  General  with  a  cigar  in  his  mouth,  and 
apparently  as  cool  and  unconcerned  as  if  inspection  was  the 
sole  purpose  of  visiting  us.  The  General's  apparent  indiffer 
ence  had,  undoubtedly,  a  good  influence  on  the  men.  They 
saw  him  undisturbed,  and  felt  assured  that  the  worst  was  over, 
and  the  attack  had  spent  its  force.  This  must  have  been  soon 
after  he  reached  the  field  ;  for,  upon  hearing  the  roar  of  battle 
in  the  morning  at  Savannah  he  went  aboard  a  steamer,  came 
up  the  river  eight  or  nine  miles,  and  did  not  reach  the  scene 
of  action  much,  if  any,  before  10  o'clock.  By  that  time, 
Sherman,  McClernand  and  Prentiss  had  been  driven  more  than 
a  mile  beyond  their  camps,  and  with  such  of  their  command 
as  they  could  hold  together  had  formed  on  the  flanks  of  the 
two  reserve  divisions  of  Hurlbut  and  W.  H.  L.  Wallace, 
who  had  moved  forward  beyond  their  own  camps  to  meet 
them. 

While  General  Johnston  and  his  adjutants  were  reorganizing 
their  command  after  their  first  great  triumph,  to  complete  the 
conquest  so  well  begun,  Grant  and  his  generals  were  attempting 
to  organize  resistance  out  of  defeat,  to  establish  their  lines, 
to  connect  the  divisions  with  each  other,  and  improve  the 
situation  of  the  different  commands  by  seizing  the  most  favor 
able  ground.  Sherman  and  McClernand,  with  what  remained 
of  their  divisions,  were  on  the  extreme  right ;  W.  H.  I,.  Wal 
lace,  whose  division  had  not  yet  come  into  action,  on  their 
left,  and  on  the  left  center  of  our  army  ;  Prentiss  on  his  left. 
Then  came  Hurlbut ;  then  a  small  force  under  Stuart,  on  the 
extreme  left  of  our  line. 

Fortunately  for  us,  General  Johnston's  plan  was  to  attack  our 
left.  If,  when  he  was  ready  to  renew  the  battle,  he  had 
assailed  our  right,  where  were  Sherman's  and  McClernand' s 
divisions,  who  had  already  done  almost  as  much  as  flesh  and 
blood  could  stand,  nothing  would  have  stopped  him,  and  by 
two  o'clock  we  should  have  been  where  we  were  at  dark — that 
is,  huddled  about  the  landing.  Then  there  would  have  been 


18 


nothing  to  do  but  to  surrender.  Happily,  most  happily,  when 
he  renewed  the  assaults  upon  our  lines,  it  was  upon  those 
portions  manned  by  reserve  divisions,  troops  that  had  not  been 
seriously  engaged,  and  had  had  time  to  steady  their  nerves, 
and  to  select  favorable  positions. 

As  for  myself  and  comrades,  we  had  become  accustomed  to  the 
situation  somewhat.  The  lull  in  the  fighting  in  our  immediate 
vicinity,  and  the  reports  which  reached  us  that  matters  were 
now  progressing  favorably  on  the  rest  of  the  field,  reassured 
us.  We  were  becoming  quite  easy  in  mind.  I  had  always 
made  it  a  rule  to  keep  a  supply  of  sugar  and  some  hard  tack 
in  my  haversack,  ready  for  an  emergency.  It  stood  me  in 
good  stead  just  then,  for  I  alone  had  something  besides  fight 
ing  for  lunch.  I  nibbled  my  hard  tack,  and  ate  my  sugar 
with  comfort  and  satisfaction,  for  I  don't  believe  three  men  of 
our  regiment  were  hurt  by  this  artillery  fire  upon  us,  which 
had  been  kept  up  with  more  or  less  fury  for  two  or  three  hours- 

One  of  the  little  episodes  of  the  battle  happened  about  this 
time.  We  noticed  that  a  Confederate,  seated  on  one  of  the 
abandoned  cannon  I  have  mentioned,  was  leisurely  taking  an 
observation.  He  was  out  of  range  of  our  guns,  but  our  First 
Lieutenant  got  a  rifle  from  a  man  who  happened  to  have  one, 
took  deliberate  aim,  and  Johnny  Reb  tumbled. 

But  soon  alter  noon  the  confederate  forces  were  ready  to  hurl 
themselves  on  our  lines.  There  had  been  more  or  less  fighting 
on  our  right  all  the  time,  but  now  Johnson  had  collected  his 
troops  and  massed  them  in  front  of  the  Union  army's  left. 
Language  is  inadequate  to  give  an  idea  of  the  situation. 
Cannon  and  musketry  roared  and  rattled,  not  in  volleys,  but 
in  one  continual  din.  Charge  after  charge  was  made  upon 
the  Union  lines,  and  every  time  repulsed.  By  concentrating 
the  main  body  of  his  troops  on  our  left,  General  Johnson  was 
superior  there  to  us  in  numbers,  and  there  was  no  one  upon 
whom  we  could  call  for  help.  General  Lew  Wallace  had  not 
taken  the  precaution  to  learn  the  roads  between  his  division 
at  Crump's  Landing  and  the  main  body,  and  he  and  his  7,000 
men  were  lost  in  the  woods,  instead  of  being  where  they  could 
support  us  in  this  our  dire  extremity.  The  left  wing  of  our 
brigade  was  the  Hornet's  Nest,  mentioned  in  the  Southern 
accounts  of  the  battle.  On  the  immediate  right  of  my 
regiment  was  timber  with  growth  of  underbrush,  and  the 


19 

dreadful  conflict  set  the  woods  on  fire,  burning  the  dead  and 
the  wounded  who  could  not  crawl  away.  At  one  point  not 
burned  over,  I  noticed,  after  the  battle,  a  strip  of  low  under 
brush  which  had  evidently  been  the  scene  of  a  most  desperate 
contest.  Large  patches  of  brush  had  been  cut  off  by  bullets  at 
about  as  high  as  a  man's  waist,  as  if  mowed  with  a  scythe, 
and  I  could  not  find  in  the  whole  thicket  a  bush  which  had 
not  at  some  part  of  it  been  touched  by  a  ball.  Of  course, 
human  beings  could  not  exist  in  such  a  scene,  save  by  closely 
hugging  the  ground,  or  screening  themselves  behind  trees. 

Hour  after  hour  passed.  Time  and  again  the  Confederate 
hordes  threw  themselves  on  our  lines,  and  were  repulsed ;  but  our 
ranks  were  becoming  dangerously  thinned.  If  a  few  thousand 
troops  could  have  been  brought  from  Lew  Wallace's  division 
to  our  sorely-tried  left  the  battle  would  have  been  won.  His 
failure  to  reach  us  was  fatal. 

Yet,  during  all  this  terrible  ordeal  through  which  our  com 
rades  on  the  immediate  right  and  the  left  of  us  were  passing,  we 
were  left  undisturbed  until  about  two  o'clock.  Then  there  came 
from  the  woods  on  the  other  side  of  the  field,  to  the  edge  of  it, 
and  then  came  trotting  across  it,  as  fine  looking  a  body  of  men 
as  I  ever  expect  to  see  under  arms.  They  came  with  their 
guns  at  what  soldiers  call  right  shoulder  shift.  Lying  on  the 
ground  there,  with  the  rails  of  the  fence  thrown  down  in  front 
of  us,  we  beheld  them,  as  they  started  in  beautiful  line  ;  then 
increasing  their  speed  as  they  neared  our  side  of  the  field,  they 
came  on  till  they  reached  the  range  of  our  smooth  bore  guns, 
loaded  with  buck  and  ball.  Then  we  rose  with  a  volley  right 
in  their  faces.  Of  course,  the  smoke  then  entirely  obscured 
the  vision,  but  with  eager,  bloodthirsty  energy,  we  loaded  and 
fired  our  muskets  at  the  top  of  our  speed,  aiming  low,  until, 
from  not  noticing  any  return  fire,  the  word  passed  along  from 
man  to  man  to  stop  firing.  As  the  smoke  rose  so  that  we 
could  see  over  the  field,  that  splendid  body  of  men  presented 
to  my  eyes  more  the  appearance  of  a  wind-row  of  hay  than 
anything  else.  They  seemed  to  be  piled  up  on  each  other  in  a 
long  row  across  the  field.  Probably  the  obscurity  caused  by 
the  smoke,  as  well  as  the  slight  slope  of  the  ground  towards 
us,  accounted  for  this  piled  up  appearance,  for  it  was  something 
which  could  not  possibly  occur.  But  the  slaughter  had  been 
fearful.  Here  and  there  you  could  see  a  squad  of  men  runnign 


20 

off  out  of  range  ;  now  and  then  a  man  lying  down,  probably 
wounded  or  stunned,  would  rise  and  try  to  run,  soon  to  tumble 
from  the  shots  we  sent  after  him.  After  the  action  I  went  all 
over  the  field  of  battle,  visiting  every  part  of  it ;  but  in  no 
place  was  there  anything  like  the  number  of  dead  upon  the 
same  space  of  ground  as  here  in  this  little  field.  Our  old 
fashioned  guns,  loaded  as  they  were,  and  at  such  close  quarters, 
had  done  fearful  execution.  This  is  undoubtedly  the  same 
field  General  Grant  speaks  of  in  the  Century  article,  but  he  is 
mistaken  when  he  speaks  of  the  dead  being  from  both  sides. 
There  were  no  Union  dead  in  that  field. 

Our  casualties  were  small.  In  our  little  set  of  college 
boys  only  one,  was  hurt ;  he  receiving  a  wound  in  the 
leg,  which  caused  its  amputation.  The  bayonet  of  my  gun 
was  shot  off,  but  possibly  that  was  done  by  some  man  behind 
me,  firing  just  as  I  threw  the  muzzle  of  my  gun  into  his  way. 
I  didn't  notice  it  until,  in  loading  my  gun,  I  struck  my  hand 
against  the  jagged  end  of  the  broken  piece. 

The  Confederates  had  all  they  wanted  of  charging  across 
the  field,  and  let  us  alone.  But  just  to  our  lett  General  John 
ston  had  personally  organized  and  started  a  heavy  assaulting 
column.  Overwhelmed  by  numbers,  the  Forty-first  and  Thirty- 
second  Illinois  gave  way  from  the  position  they  had  so  te 
naciously  held,  but  one  of  their  last  shots  mortally  wounded 
the  Confederate  general.  The  gallant  Lieutenant- Colonel  of 
the  Forty-first,  whom  we  had  cheered  as  we  moved  out  in  the 
morning,  was  killed,  and  his  regiment,  broken  and  cut  to 
pieces,  did  not  renew  the  fight.  Making  that  break  in  our 
line,  after  four  or  five  hours  of  as  hard  fighting  as  ever  occurred 
on  this  continent,  was  the  turning  point -of  the  day.  American 
had  met  American  in  fair,  stand-up  fight,  and  our  side  was 
beaten,  because  we  could  not  reinforce  the  point  which  was 
assailed  by  the  concentrated  forces  of  the  enemy . 

Of  course,  the  giving  way  on  our  left  necessitated  our 
abandoning  the  side  of  the  field  from  whence  we  had  annihi 
lated  an  assaulting  column.  We  moved  back  a  short  distance 
in  the  woods,  and  a  crowd  of  our  enemies  promptly  occupied 
the  position  we  had  left.  Then  began  the  first  real,  prolonged 
fighting  experienced  by  our  regiment  that  day.  Our  success 
in  crushing  the  first  attack  had  exhilarated  us.  We  had  tasted 
blood  and  were  thoroughly  aroused.  Screening  ourselves 


21 

behind  every  log  and  tree,  all  broken  into  squads,  the  enemy 
broken  up  likewise,  we  gave  back  shot  for  shot  and  yell  for 
y£ll.  The  very  madness  of  bloodthirstiness  possessed  us.  To 
kill,  to  exterminate  the  beings  in  front  of  us  was  our  whole 
desire.  Such  energy  and  force  was  too  much  for  our  enemies, 
and  ere  long  we  saw  squads  of  them  rising  from  the  ground 
and  running  away.  Again  there  was  no  foe  in  our  front. 
Ammunition  was  getting  short,  but  happity  a  wagon  came  up 
with  cartridges,  and  we  took  advantage  of  the  lull  to  fill  our 
boxes.  We  had  not  yet  lost  many  men  and  were  full  of  fight. 

This  contest  exploded  all  my  notions  derived  from  histories 
and  pictures,  of  the  way  men  stand  up  in  the  presence  of  the 
enemy.  Unless  in  making  an  assault  or  moving  forward, 
both  sides  hugged  the  ground  as  closely  as  they  possibly  could 
and  still  handle  their  guns.  I  doubt  if  a  human  being  could 
have  existed  three  minutes,  if  standing  erect  in  open  ground 
under  such  a  fire  as  we  here  experienced.  As  for  myself,  at 
the  beginning  I  jumped  behind  a  little  sapling  not  more  than 
six  inches  in  diameter,  and  instantly  about  six  men  ranged 
themselves  behind  me,  one  behind  the  other.  I  thought  they 
would  certainly  shoot  my  ears  off,  and  I  would  be  in  luck  if 
the  side  of  my  head  didn't  go.  The  reports  of  their  guns  were 
deafening.  A  savage  remonstrance  was  unheeded.  I  was 
behind  a  sapling  and  proposed  to  stay  there.  They  were 
behind  me  and  proposed  to  stay  there. 

The  sapling  did  me  a  good  turn,  small  as  it  was.  It  caught 
some  Rebel  bullets,  as  I  ascertained  for  a  certainty  afterwards. 
I  fancied  at  the  time  that  I  heard  the  spat  of  the  bullets  as 
they  struck. 

Here  my  particular  chum  was  wounded  by  a  spent 
ball,  and  crawled  off  the  field.  I  can  see  him  yet, 
writhing  at  my  feet,  grasping  the  leaves  and  sticks  in  the 
horrible  pain  which  the  blow  from  a  spent  ball  inflicts.  A 
bullet  struck  the  top  of  the  forehead  of  the  wit  of  the  company, 
plowing  along  the  skull  without  breaking  it.  His  dazed  ex 
pression,  as  he  turned  instinctively  to  crawl  to  the  rear,  was  so 
comical  as  to  cause  a  laugh  even  there. 

The  lull  caused  by  the  death  of  General  Johnston  did  not 
last  long,  and  again  on  our  left  flank  great  masses  of  the  enemy 
appeared,  and  we  had  to  fall  back  two  or  three  hundred  yards. 

Then   began   another   fight.     But  this  time  the  odds  were 


22 


overwhelmingly  against  us.  At  it  we  went,  but  in  front  and 
quartering  on  the  left  thick  masses  of  the  enemy  slowly  but 
steadily  advanced  upon  us.  This  time  it  was  a  log  I  £ot 
behind,  kneeling,  loading  and  firing  into  the  dense  ranks  of 
the  enemy  advancing  right  in  front,  eager  to  kill,  kill  !  I  lost 
thought  of  companions,  until  a  ball  struck  me  fair  in  the  side, 
just  under  the  arm,  knocking  me  over.  I  felt  it  go  clear 
through  my  body,  struggled  on  the  ground  with  the  effect  of 
the  blow  for  an  instant,  recovered  myself,  sprang  to  my  feet, 
saw  I  was  alone,  my  comrades  already  on  the  run,  the  enemy 
close  in  on  the  left  as  well  as  front — saw  it  all  at  a  glance,  felt 
I  was  mortally  wounded,  and — took  to  my  heels.  Run  !  such 
time  was  never  made  before  ;  overhauled  my  companions  in  no 
time  ;  passed  them  ;  began  to  wonder  that  a  man  shot  through 
the  body  could  run  so  fast,  and  to  suspect  that  perhaps  I  was 
not  mortally  wounded  after  all ;  felt  for  the  hole  the  ball  had 
made,  found  it  in  the  blouse  and  shirt,  bad  bruise  on  the  ribs, 
nothing  more — spent  ball ;  never  relaxed  my  speed ;  saw 
everything  around — see  it  yet.  I  see  the  enemy  close  in  on 
the  flank,  pouring  in  their  fire  at  short  range.  I  see  our  men 
running  for  their  lives,  men  every  instant  tumbling  forward 
limp  on  their  faces,  men  falling  wounded  and  rolling  on  the 
ground,  the  falling  bullets  raising  little  puffs  of  dust  on  appar 
ently  every  foot  of  ground,  a  bullet  through  my  hair,  a  bullet 
through  my  trousers.  I  hear  the  cruel  iz,  iz,  of  the  minie  balls 
everywhere.  Ahead  I  see  artillery  galloping  for  the  landing, 
and  crowds  of  men  running  with  almost  equal  speed,  and  all 
in  the  same  direction.  I  even  see  the  purple  tinge  given  by  the 
setting  sun  to  the  dust  and  smoke  of  battle.  I  see  unutterable 
defeat,  the  success  of  the  rebellion,  a  great  catastrophe,  a  moral 
and  physical  cataclysm. 

No  doubt,  in  less  time  than  it  takes  to  recall  these  impres 
sions,  we  ran  out  of  this  horrible  gauntlet — a  party  who  shall 
be  nameless  still  in  the  lead  of  the  regiment. 

Before  getting  out  of  it  we  crossed  our  camp  ground,  and 
here  one  of  our  college  set,  the  captain  of  the  company 
fell,  with  several  holes  through  his  body,  while  two 
others  of  our  set  were  wounded.  In  that  short  race  at  least 
one-third  of  our  little  command  were  stricken  down. 

Immediately  behind  us  the  Confederates  closed  in,  and  the 
brave  General  Prentiss  and  the  gallant  remains  of  his  command 


23 

were  cut  off  and  surrendered.  As  we  passed  out  of  range  of 
the  enemy's  fire  we  mingled  with  the  masses  of  troops  skurry- 
ing  towards  the  landing,  all  semblance  of  organization  lost. 
It  was  a  great  crowd  of  beaten  troops.  Pell-mell  we  rushed 
towards  the  landing.  As  we  approached  it  we  saw  a  row  of 
siege  guns,  manned  and  ready  for  action,  while  a  dense  mass 
of  unorganized  infantry  were  rallied  to  their  support.  No 
doubt  they  were  men  from  every  regiment  on  the  field,  rallied 
by  brave  officers  for  the  last  and  final  stand. 

We  passed  them — or,  at  least,  I  did.  As  I  reached  the  top 
of  the  bluff  I  saw,  marching  up,  in  well  dressed  lines,  the 
advance  of  General  Nelson's  division  of  Buell's  army,  then 
being  ferried  across  the  river.  They  moved  up  the  bluff  and 
took  part  in  repulsing  the  last,  rather  feeble  assault  made  at 
dark  by  a  small  portion  of  the  enemy,  though  the  main  de 
fense  was  made  by  brave  men  collected  from  every  quarter  of 
the  field,  determined  to  fight  to  the  last. 

As  for  myself,  I  was  alone  in  the  crowd.  My  regiment  was 
thoroughly  scattered.  I  was  considerably  hurt  and  demoral 
ized,  and  didn't  take  a  hand  in  the  last  repulse  of  the  enemy. 
Darkness  came  on,  and  then,  for  the  first  time  since  morning, 
the  horrid  din  of  fire-arms  ceased.  An  examination  showed 
that  the  ball,  though  it  had  hit  me  fair  on  the  rib,  was  so  far 
spent  that  it  only  made  a  bad  bruise  and  respiration  painful. 
A  requisition  on  the  sugar  and  hard  tack  followed,  and  then, 
as  I  happened  to  be  near  an  old  house  filled  with  wounded,  most 
of  the  night  was  spent  in  carrying  them  water. 

Every  fiifteen  minutes  the  horizon  was  lighted  up  by  the 
flash  of  a  great  gun  from  one  of  our  gunboats,  as  it  sent  a  shell 
over  towards  the  Confederate  bivouacs  in  the  woods.  General 
Lew  Wallace's  division  at  last  reached  the  battle  field,  and 
was  placed  by  General  Grant  on  the  right,  preparatory  to 
renewing  the  fight  in  the  morning.  All  night  long  the  fresh 
divisions  of  Buell's  army  were  being  ferried  across  the  river, 
and  placed  in  position.  A  light  rain  came  on,  putting  out  the 
fires  kindled  by  the  battle. 

The  next  morning  the  contest  was  begun  by  Wallace's 
division  of  Buell's  army.  The  remnants  of  Grant's  army  that 
had  any  fight  left  in  them,  slowly  collected  together  on  the 
right. 

My  own  regiment,  when  I  found  its  colors,  had  as  many  men 


24 

together,  probably,  as  any  in  Hurlbut's  division,  but  there  could 
not  have  been  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty.  It  was  the  same, 
I  suspect,  with  every  regiment  that  had  been  hotly  engaged. 
The  men  were  thoroughly  scattered.  Soldiers  of  pluck  joined 
us  who  could  not  find  their  own  command,  and  no  doubt  some 
of  ours  joined  other  regiments. 

When  our  general  was  again  about  to  lead  our  division  to 
the  front,  I  was  only  too  glad  to  avail  myself  of  permission  to 
join  a  body  of  men  to  support  a  battery  in  reserve.  Badly 
bruised,  sore  and  worn  out,  I  sat  or  lay  on  the  ground  near 
the  guns,  while  Monday's  battle  progressed,  the  sound  of  it 
getting  farther  and  farther  away.  About  two  o'clock  we  saw 
the  cavalry  moving  to  the  front,  and  knew  the  enemy  had 
retreated. 

That  night,  as  we  collected  on  our  old  camp  ground,  what 
eager  inquiries  were  made  !  With  what  welcome  did  we  greet 
each  new  arrival ;  how  excitedly  the  events  of  the  last  two 
days  were  discussed  !  We  found  that  from  the  fourteen  in  our 
tent,  one  was  killed,  one  mortally  wounded,  and  seven  others 
more  or  less  severely  wounded,  only  five  escaping  unhurt. 
This  proportion,  of  course,  was  very  unusual.  The  regiment 
itself,  which  had  not  lost  many  in  the  first  two  fights  we  made, 
was  still,  on  account  of  the  disastrous  retreat  under  a  flank 
fire,  one  of  the  heaviest  losers,  in  proportion  to  the  numbers 
engaged,  in  the  whole  army. 

The  feeling  in  the  army  after  the  battle  was  very  bitter.  All 
felt  that  even  a  few  hours'  notice  of  the  impending  attack, 
spent  in  preparation  to  receive  it,  would  have  been  ample  to 
have  enabled  us  to  give  the  Confederates  such  a  reception  as 
Beauregard  feared  and  expected,  and  to  have  defeated  them. 
It  was  long  before  General  Grant  regained  the  confidence  of 
the  army  and  country  that  he  lost  that  day.  He  and  Sherman 
here  learned  a  lesson  that  they  never  forgot,  but  they  learned 
it  at  fearful  cost  to  the  country  and  to  us. 

It  has  been  many  times  claimed  that  Buell's  opportune 
arrival  Sunday  night  saved  Grant  and  his  army  from  annihi 
lation  on  Monday.  This  is  probably  correct.  Still,  it 
is  possible,  that  without  this  aid,  the  arrival  on  the  ground  of 
Lew  Wallace's  fresh  and  strong  division,  to  aid  the  thousands 
of  brave  men  determined  to  fight  to  the  last,  would  have 


25 

resulted  in  the  repulse  of  an  enemy  which  had  suffered  so 
severely  on  Sunday. 

But  I  have  long  been  inclined  to  a^gree  with  thflse  Southern 
ers,  who  contend,  that  if  the  gallant  Johnston  had  not  been 
killed  so  early  in  the  afternoon,  our  defeat  would  have  been 
accomplished  long  enough  before  dark,  to  have  rendered  our 
reinforcements  useless. 

One  word  more,  as  to  the  numbers  of  the  armies  engaged 
on  Sunday.  A  careful  comparison  of  the  returns  will  show  that 
at  the  beginning  the  two  armies  were  about  equally  matched 
in  numbers ;  but  by  the  time  our  stampeded  men  had  got  out 
of  the  way,  and  the  two  reserve  divisions  were  in  line  with  the 
remnants  of  the  three  other  divisions,  the  preponderance  was 
largely  with  the  Confederates.  They  could  choose  their  own 
point  of  attack,  and  we  had  no  reserve  with  which  to  strengthen 
a  shattered  line. 

The  literature  of  the  battle  is  quite  extensive.  The  Count 
of  Paris  gives  in  his  history  the  best  preliminary  description  ; 
but  as  a  whole,  and  making  reasonable  allowances,  the  best 
account  yet  written  is  contained  in  the  life  of  Albert  Sidney 
Johnston,  by  his  son.  The  account  by  General  Force,  con 
tained  in  the  Scribner  series  of  "Campaigns  of  the  Civil  War," 
is  good. 

But  no  study  of  the  battle  can  be- complete  without  the  aid 
of  General  Buell's  articles  in  the  Century  Magazine,  and  the 
maps  of  the  field,  which  he  has  so  carefully  prepared. 

What  were  the  results  of  this  first  great  battle  of  the  war  ? 
Its  influence  upon  the  gigantic  contest  which  was  to  be  waged 
for  three  years  longer  was  probably  not  great.  It  was  too  near 
a  drawn  battle.  But  if  it  was  necessary  to  demonstrate  to  the 
world  and  to  ourselves  the  courage  of  our  people,  that  gener 
ations  of  peace  and  peaceful  pursuits  had  not  one  whit  lessened 
the  force  or  the  enthusiasm  of  the  race  that  peopled  this 
Western  Continent,  then  here  was  demonstration  the  most 
positive. 

The  people  of  the  South  for  the  first  time  realized  the  nature 
of  the  conflict  chey  had  provoked.  Until  this  campaign,  the 
great  mass  of  the  Southerners  could  not  be  made  to  believe 
that  the  students  and  farmers  and  mechanics  and  merchants  of 
the  North  loved  their  country  and  its  institutions  more  than 


they  loved  the  gains  of  peace  ;  nay,  more  than  they  loved 
their  lives.  They  saw  here  an  army  of  young  men  represent 
ing  their  kindred  of  the  North,  fighting,  not  for  their  own 
homes  and  firesides,  but*for  the  perpetuity  of  the  Nation,  with 
a  courage  and  pertinacity  which  showed  that  this  generation 
was  resolved  to  transmit  what  it  had  received  from  the  fathers 
of  the  country.  They  saw  this  army  attacked  at  every  disad 
vantage,  rally  at  the  call  of  a  chief  worthy  of  it,  and  who  was 
a  type  of  its  character  and  its  lofty  motives,  and  then  bravely 
endure  a  storm  unparalleled  on  this  continent. 

The  thousands  of  youthful  dead  left  on  that  bloody  battlefield 
demonstrated  that  we  have  a  country  nnd  a  race  worthy  to  take 
the  lead  in  the  march  of  human  advancement. 

WARREN  OLNEY. 


USE 


YD   10837 


